Railway truck frame



Jan. 16, 1951 R. H. GAVER RAILWAY TRUCK FRAME 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 13, 1946 INVENTOR. Q RA YMO/VD H. 6/! V5,?

ATTO/QA/[YS Jan. 16, 1951 R. H. GAVER RAILWAY TRUCK FRAME 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 13, 1946 JNVENTOR. RAYMOND H G/H [fi ATTORNEYS Jan. 16, 1951 R. H. GAVER 2,538,307

I RAILWAY TRUCK FRAME Filed Aug. 15, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet s v 'IIIIIIII INVENTOR. PA VMOA/D H GA v5 M mm;

ATTORNEYS Jan. 16, 1951 Filed Aug. 15, 3.946

R. H. GAVER RAILWAY TRUCK FRAME 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. PAVMO/VDH. GAVER ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 16, 1951 rem" OFFICE RAILWAY TRUCK FRAME Raymond H. Gaver, Warren, (Bhio, assignor to The American Welding & Manufacturing Company, Warren, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application August 13, 1946, Serial N 0. 690,204

8 (llaims.

This invention relates generally to railway car trucks. It relates more particularly to a new combined frame and bolster for such trucks.

It has heretofore been common to make unsprung railway car truck frames despite the disadvantages of such construction. In efforts to spring these frames, double frames have been developed wherein the main frame is unsprung and a secondary frame is sprung from the main frame. But while these double frames constitute an improvement over the former type, they do not respond to the long standing demand for a fully sprung single frame construction.

Theframe of my present invention is fully sprung and therefore meets this demand, but additionally enables the elimination of equalizer bars and offers other important advantages. In accordance with my invention, spring means are provided between the truck axles and an integral unit consisting of a rectangular frame and an X-shaped bolster which serves to pre vent longitudinal movement of the frame side, a motion which is referred to in the trade as leading. Lifting, that is, the upward movement of one wheel of a truck with respect to its mate, and nosing which is the dive-like motion of a truck constantly changing its direction of travel through a few degrees, are two additional serious troubles commonly experienced with prior truck frames but substantially, if not 1 entirely, eliminated in my present truck frames.

By the present invention I am able to fabricate a combined frame and bolster which is strong enough to meet all governing specifications and safe enough to use, and to make such combined apparatus at less expense than is required by casting or forging methods. Actually, because of the fact that my fabricated frames and bolsters are made of cold worked metal which is inherently stronger than cast unworked metal, said frames and frame and bolster com- .2 Figure 4 is a fragmentary, enlarged, detail View showing side and end plates and the joining corner construction of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, partly sectional plan view of part of the bolster and one side plate of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Figure 6, is a side elevational view, partly in section, taken on line S6 of Fig. 5; and,

Figure 7 is a vertical, sectional View, taken on line 'l'! of Fig. 5. 1

Figure 8 is a vertical, sectional view, taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 2. V This invention generally involves a combined and fabricated frame and bolster for a railway car truck. The illustrated form of this invention more specifically includes a fabricated frame F, a bolster B, and two bearing bridges R.

The frame F comprises two side plates S and two end transom plates T. The plates S are web-like steel plates having'flanges 3 along their lower edges and a plurality of ribs 5 extending substantially vertically upwardly from said flanges tothe top edges of the plates. Eight shear plates [ii are secured in pairs to the side plates near the end portions of the said plates. The end portions of the side plates extend beyond the adjoinin transom plates and, like the end portions of the transom plates, are of reduced height. The end portions of said side plates are each provided with a web-like steel gusset l2 disposed between said side plates and 'at substantially right angles to said side plates.

The transom plates T are provided with flanges 1 along their lower edges but have no ribbed portions, and are disposed parallel to each other between opposed ends of the side plates and in alignment with gussets l2.

The side and end transom plates of the frame are secured along their top edge portions to tubular members It, which define a continuous rectangular tubular frame in plan View, and. the side plates and end transom plates are thus securely fixed together. The side plates and transom plates are suitably secured to the tubes i l by means of welds, the said side plates and their ribbed portions being formed in such manner that the said tubes are engaged with the said ribs through approximately /2 of the circumference of the tubes.

The flanges of the side plates and transom plates are tension members in this assembly, while the tubular top portion of the frame is a compression member.

The bolster B comprises a box-like center section i5 disposed midway between the end transom plates and the side plates, and four substantially horizontally disposed, tapered arms l6 extending from said section to points adjacent side plates S. The said center section comprises two substantially straight and flat side plates H, four angled metal side plates I8 arranged in pairs to define tw v-shaped sections between said side plates I! and secured to plates I! by welds, two metal filler plates l9 attached to plates l8 and closing said V sections, a top and a bottom plate 2| secured to the assembled six side plates and two filler plates by welds, a metal ring 22 permanently attached to said top plate, and a circular metal wear plate 23 disposed within said ring. These top and bottom plates have tapered arms 24 extending along and engaging the tops and bottoms of the arms It of the bolster to assure the uniform distribution of the load into the bolster arms and to maintain the welds between the arms l6 and the arms 24 in shear rather than tension or compression.

The said box-like center section is disposed with side plates I! substantially paralleling the I transom plates '1 of the frame and with the filler plates l9 and the portions of the plates l3 adjacent the plates !1 substantially paralleling the side plates of the frame. The top plate is provided with central aperture to receive a railway car king pin and the section I5 is provided with a centrally disposed tube 25 welded to said top plate and bottom plate and extending downwardly from the said top plate in register with the said aperture, to receive the said king pin.

The arms l6 are each composed of a pair of channels welded together along the neutral axes of the arms to define a box-like section tapering from the center section IE to a point adjacent a side plate of the frame F. The outer portion of the arm in each instance is joined to the center section l5 by welds substantially at, or along, an

'edge of said section, and the inner portion of .in alignment with the central portion of side bearing bridge R.

The arms l6 terminate in open ends of reduced box shaped cross section adjacent the side plates of the frame, where the arms are engaged with blocks 2'! secured to the said side plates. These blocks and arms are secured together by welds, the blocks being partially received within the open ends of the arms and the arms not directly engaging the frame side plates. The welds joining these parts are thus maintained in shear and at maximum strength.

Each arm I6 is internally supported by an angled metal plate which is disposed within the arm for the purpose of distributing the side bearing bridge load through the said arm. In each instance the plate 30 is welded along lower side and bottom edge portions to the lower chanml of the arm and is engaged with the upper channel to divide said arm into two separate hollow sections. The upper end portion of each plate which is disposed at substantially right angles to the remainder of said plate, is disposed toward the center section 15 and is engaged with the top portion of arm 16 and is joined to said portion by a Weld in slot: 26.

Substantially paralleling the side plates of the frame and joining each pair of arms I6 is a side bearing bridge R, Which is in alignment with plates 39. This bridge is composed of metal plate 3! having top and bottom flanges and having triangular shear plates 32. The top flanges is disposed substantially horizontally and the bottom plate is of V-shape, the plate 3! being Wider in its center section than at its ends. A single rib 33 extends from the vertex of the V upwardly to the top flange of the plate 3 l. The side bearing bridge is firmly secured by welds to the arm pair between which it is disposed in such manner that the ends of the top and bottom flanges of the plate 3| and the base portions of the triangular shear plates 32 are secured to the said arms, and the web is disposed substantially in alignment with the vertically disposed portion of the plates 38 Within the two arms IS.

The frame F, bolster B and bearing bridge R are sprung by means of the torsion rod suspension assembly disclosed in U. S. Patent 2,386,795, issued October 16, 1945. The side plates S of the frame carry the necessary fixed elements of this springing means. The four bearings to for torsion rod sleeves are secured to the plates S of the frame, two being secured to each of said plates at points near the mid-section of the plates by means of gussets 5!. At the ends of the side plates, the other parts of the torsion rod suspension assembly are secured by means of U-bolts 35 having ends extending through the said plates and nuts 46 engaging the threads in the ends of the bolts, as shown in Fig. 1.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications may be made in the form of this invention without the exercise of more than routine mechanical skill and without departing either from the spirit of this invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the present invention so that others skilled in the art may understand and practice the same, I state that what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is defined in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. A railway truck unit comprising a fabricated rectangular truck frame consisting of end transom plates and side plates, a fabricated truck bolster including a center box and arms extending therefrom and being fixed to said side plates, and side bearing bridges substantially parallel to said side plates and secured at their ends to said arms.

2. A railway truck unit comprising a fabricated rectangular truck frame consisting of end transom plates and side plates, a fabricated bolster including a center box, two hollow box-like arms extending divergingly from one side of the box and engaging the frame and two hollow box-like arms extending divergingly from the other side of the box and engaging the frame, and stiffeners comprising metal plates within said 3. A railway truck unit comprising a fabricated rectangular truck frame consisting of end transom plates and side plates, a fabricated bolster including a center box and hollow box-like arms extending divergingly therefrom and being fixed to said side plates, fabricated side bearing bridges substantially parallel to said side plates and secured at their ends to said arms, and stiffeners within said arms disposed in alignment with said bridges.

4. A railway truck unit comprising a fabricated rectangular truck frame consisting of end transom plates and side plates and metal blocks carried by each of said side plates, a fabricated bolster comprising a center box and hollow arms extending divergingly from said box and having open outer ends receiving and engaging said blocks.

5. A railway truck unit comprising a fabricated rectangular truck frame consisting of end transom plates and side plates and two metal blocks secured to the inside surface of each side plate, a fabricated bolster comprising a center box disposed between said side plates and having two hollow arms extending divergingly from said box and having open ends receiving and engaging the blocks on one of said side plates, and two hollow arms extending divergingly from said box and having open ends receiving and engaging the blocks on the other said side plate, and two fabricated side bearing bridges substantially parallel to said side plates and secured at their ends to the said arms.

6. A railway car truck frame comprising end transom plates and side plates, said plates having vertical webs provided with flanges at their lower edges, a tube rectangular in plan view and welded to the upper edges of the webs of said end and side plates, reinforcing ribs on the outer and inner surfaces of the webs of the side plates and extending from said tube to said lower edge flanges of the side plates, a center box composed of vertical plates and top and bottom plates having outwardly projecting and tapering arms, said plates being welded together to form a box-like structure to receive a king-pin, arms of tapering box section and composed of channels welded together along the neutral axes of said arm, said arms having outer ends associated with and supported by said frame side plates andhaving their inner ends fitting within and welded to the top and bottom plates of said center box and the tapering arms of the top and bottom plates thereof, and side bearing bridges substantially parallel to the side frame plates and welded at their ends to said arms.

7. A railway car truck frame comprising end transom plates and side plates, said side plates having vertical webs provided with flanges at their lower edges, and having a pair of blocks secured to their inside surfaces, a tube welded to the upper edges of the webs of said end and side plates, reinforcing ribs on the outer and inner surfaces of the webs of the side plates and extending from said tube to said lower edge flanges, a center box composed of vertical plates and top and bottom plates having outwardly projecting and tapering arms, said plates being welded together to form a box-like structure to receive a king-pin, arms of tapering box section and composed of channels welded at their outer ends to the blocks of the said plates and at their inner ends fitting within and welded to the top and bottom plates of said center box and the tapering arms of the top and bottom plates thereof, and side bearing bridges substantially parallel to the side frame plates and welded at their ends to said arms.

8. A railway truck unit comprising a fabricated rectangular truck frame consisting of end transom plates and side plates carrying a pair of metal blocks on their inside surfaces, said side plates having a plurality of vertical stiffeners or ribs and four shear plates adjacent to the ends of each side plate and arranged in opposed pairs on the inside and outside surfaces of said side .plates, a tube welded to the upper edges of said side and end plates, and a fabricated bolster comprising a center box disposed between said side plates and four hollow arms extending from said box and having open ends receiving and engaging the said blocks.

RAYMOND H. GAVER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 431,203 Dithridge July 1, 1890 835,552 Piiager et al Nov. 13, 1906 1,075,845 Mills Oct. 14, 1913 1,128,771 Gilman Feb. 16, 1915 1,634,308 Sheehan July 5, 1927 2,003,546 Ledwinka June 4, 1935 2,055,756 Sutton Sept. 29, 1936 2,074,299 Blunt Mar. 16, 1937 2,186,008 Chapman Jan. 9, 1940 2,256,494 Ragsdale et al. Sept. 23, 1941 2,386,795 Hickman Oct. 16, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 404 Great Britain Feb. 13, 1865 of 1865 r 14,726 Australia June 11, 1929 OTHER REFERENCES Studies in Arc Welding, by The James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation, published August 1943, by the Foundation, page 427. (Copy available in the Patent Office Library.) 

